Laos holiday, off the beaten track
| country: | Laos |
| departures: | We offer a complete tailor made service allowing you to decide when you go, where you stay and what to do. We can arrange holidays without flights, please note as a UK based company we are only able to help with flight arrangements from the UK |
| price: | From £3135 (16 days) including flights from the UK. Prices shown are per person based on 2 people sharing. Price includes internal flight in Laos, transfers, tours with English speaking guide as per itinerary, accommodation & meals where indicated |
the amazing things you'll be doing
This holiday combines the cultural experience of Laos and its exquisite nature. It offers an insight into how the local people and ethnic minority tribes live as well as stunning mountainous scenery, forest, rivers and waterfalls.
Vientiane is a pleasant place to wander on foot and with ancient temples and exciting markets, whilst Muang Sing is the northerly outpost in Nam Ha province, which is shrouded in mist most of the year. The morning market is a great experience. This is the starting point for treks into Nam Ha to enjoy Akha experience, participating in the life of local tribe people.
Luang Prabang is considered 'the best preserved city in South East Asia'. Temples abound and steeped in history, you will see traditional stilted wooden houses and French Colonial buildings in Laos.
Highlights:
Vientiane is a pleasant place to wander on foot and with ancient temples and exciting markets, whilst Muang Sing is the northerly outpost in Nam Ha province, which is shrouded in mist most of the year. The morning market is a great experience. This is the starting point for treks into Nam Ha to enjoy Akha experience, participating in the life of local tribe people.
Luang Prabang is considered 'the best preserved city in South East Asia'. Temples abound and steeped in history, you will see traditional stilted wooden houses and French Colonial buildings in Laos.
Highlights:
- Ethnic minorities and villages
- Local life and culture
- Trekking
- Boat cruising and breath-taking scenery
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Depart London Heathrow on Thai Airways to Vientiane changing aircraft in Bangkok. |
| Day 2: | On arrival private transfer to your hotel just outside Vientiane. Overnight Green Park Hotel. (B) |
| Day 3: | Temple & market visits. Breakfast at hotel. This morning visit Vat Sisaket, the oldest original temple here and also Patousay, the victory gate. You will also visit That Luang stupa and the morning market. Overnight Green Park Hotel. (B) |
| Day 4: | Luang Namtha. This morning transfer to the airport for flight to Luang Namtha. Arrive in Luang Namtha and transfer to Muang Sing to visit minority village’s and enjoy nearby temples. Overnight Phou Iou guesthouse. (B) |
| Day 5: | Akha experience trip. In the morning visit local market, where ethnic minorities sell their goods. Return to guesthouse and commence Akha experience trip. This includes trekking, waterfalls, helping prepare traditional meals with local people. Enjoy bird watching, explore village life, and learn about local architecture. Overnight at Ban Lao Khao lodge. (B/L/D) |
| Day 6: | Nature trail. Enjoy walking to Ban Phou Yae and follow the trail enjoying bird watching, collecting bamboo shoots and medicinal plants. Overnight Bam Tamee Lodge. (B/L/D) |
| Day 7: | Village activities. After breakfast take part in village activity such as cotton spinning and pounding rice. Villagers will encourage you to get involved in daily activities. Participate in forest activity with villagers. Return to Muang Sing and road to Luang Namtha for check-in at Boat Landing guest house. (B/L/D) |
| Day 8: | Nong Khio. Depart Luang Namtha to Nong Khio to visit ethnic minorities. Upon arrival in Nong Khio during the later afternoon, transfer to Nong Khiow Riverside bungalows. (B) |
| Day 9: | Luang Prabang. This morning, board a traditional boat down Ou river to Pak Ou and visit remote villages. Upon arrival in Luang Prabang visit various temples in UNESCO world heritage city. Overnight 3 Nagas Alila Hotel. (B) |
| Day 10: | Mekong. This morning visit the National museum and board a boat for a trip down the Mekong. Then board your boat to visit Khuang Xi waterfalls for swimming and relaxing. Retun to visit night bazaar in Luang Pranang. Overnight 3 Nagas Alila Hotel. (B) |
| Day 11: | Boloven plateau. Transfer flight to Pakse. Transfer on arrival to Boloven plateau, explore villages & waterfalls. Overnight at Tad Lodge. (B) |
| Day 12: | Vat Phou cruise. This morning commence Vat Phou cruise. Enjoy long tail boat, followed by tour of temple site, dinner is served on board, the boat docks alongside a Laotian village. Overnight Vat Phou cruise. (B/L/D) |
| Day 13: | Khong Island. Breakfast on board. Cruise down to 4000 islands, arrive in Khong Island and visit village with traditional life. Overnight Vat Phou cruise. (B/L/D) |
| Day 14: | Cambodia border. Breakfast on deck, cruise small village of Ban Veuthong, return to mainland and explore waterfalls on Cambodia border. Drive to village of Ban Khiast Ngong where you will transfer to your hotel. Overnight Kingfisher Eco Lodge. (B/L) |
| Day 15: | Free day. Breakfast, at your hotel. Full day at your leisure. Overnight Kingfisher Eco Lodge. (B) |
| Day 16: | Depart. You will return to airport for your flight to Bangkok and onto London Heathrow with Thai Airways. |
B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, RO = Room Only
tailor made holiday
This trip can be tailormade to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more luxurious trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments before relaxing in comfort in some of the best and most characterful local accommodation! Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips.how this holiday makes a difference
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The Akha Experience actively support the community encouraging the Akha to preserve their traditional culture and environment as well as help them gain new skills and sources of income to help improve living standards e.g. medical care, education. The Project is run by the villagers themselves as a small scale business. The program protects the environment and empowers and gives benefit to Akha villagers whilst fostering cultural exchange and increasing outsider understanding of minority lifestyles and beliefs. The Project allows full participation in Akha daily tasks, accommodation in traditional lodges, and bathroom facilities equipped with solar energy. Meals on overnight treks are prepared using simple foods purchased in villages.
The treks employ local guides trained up through Tourism Ministry. Your participation in a trekking, mountain bike or kayaking program will not only give the villagers in the forest a significant alternative source of income, you will also be contributing directly to wildlife and forest conservation projects through access permits. Either side of the trek will involve overnight stays at Boat Landing Guesthouse. (First Choice Responsible Tourism award winner 2005, affiliate member of GreenGlobe 21) This eco-conscious lodge provides guests with local guides, and boatman contacts. They help support nearby restaurants and other lodges in the country. Some of the profits go towards the village school, and they conserve a small section of Nam HA River as a fish sanctuary. They support Black Cheeked Gibbon conservation project and employ local people, and purchase local goods and services whenever possible. (Featured in Tourism Concern publication). You can sample the traditional dishes of the people of Luang Namtha in the open-air restaurant and bungalows are constructed with local materials in a local Lao style, rooms have a modern bathroom outfitted with solar hot water. The lodge aims to reduce use of solid waste such as plastic and batteries and transform organic waste into fertilizer. Proper disposal of waste chemicals such as motor oil is enforced. Finally you will stay at Kingfisher Eco Lodge, which collaborates with the Xe Pian Natural Park management, local villagers and NGOs to provide trekking, hiking and other natural activities inside the park. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |